A Headboard by Any Other Name...

As many of you know, my hubby is quite the handy man and has recently dabbled into home furnishings.  He made our beautiful kitchen table and recently put together this beauty for James' room:

James' big kid room felt somehow unfinished.  The furniture in the room was Ed's when he was a kid, but the headboard that came with the set was for a twin bed and James has a double.  Enter Super-Hubby!  He built this baby in a few days and we couldn't be more thrilled with how it looks in the space.

Unfortunately, James didn't seem to notice it when he first walked into the room.

Kid is oblivious.

But since that lackluster first impression, he has petted it while saying "I like it!" so it looks like Ed got a thumbs up.

And now for the plug.  Check out Ed's Craigslist site for more of the great stuff he has put together and let him know if you are in need of anything!

Big Kid Room: The Details

Woah - Thanks for all the love on the big kid room reveal!  I can't tell you how many notes I received asking where we sourced the items in James' new room, so I thought I would share some of the details with the masses.

Being the dork that I am, I actually created a mood board to get all my ideas together.  It is a mix of things I saw on Pinterest matched with my own personal likes.  The starting point was the Brody Sheet Set I saw on the Pottery Barn Kids website.  Once I saw them, I knew we found our theme.
 

Paint Color
I knew I wanted to go with a bold green from the start.  Most of the house is very neutral so I thought this would be a great room to have fun with color.  Ed was skeptical when he saw the swatches on the wall, but trusted that I would make the right choice.  Thank goodness I did (phew!).  We went with Glidden's New Grass Green matched to Benjamin Moore paint and couldn't be happier.

Bedding & Pillows

I initially saw this rugby style bedding at Pottery Barn Kids, but at $89.00 for a duvet cover I knew I needed to find a wallet-friendly alternative.  Enter Target.  I found this puppy on the website and at $29.99 for a comforter, I was sold.  As for the pillows, I scored the fire truck at Home Goods on one of my many excursions and the "J" pillow is from POSH365 on Etsy.

School Desk

I got the idea to put a vintage school desk in James' room from a blog called coos & ahhs.  It looked so perfect in a big kid room so I began Operation: Find Vintage Desk.  It took a while to find.  A loooooonnnngggg while.  There was lots of scouring of Craigslist and Etsy and local antique stores and not so local antique stores.  Finally, one day the clouds parted and I found this puppy on Craigslist.  I think I paid $40 for both the desk and the chair.  Can you say SCORE! 

Lighting

When I saw this lamp on Pinterst, I knew that I wanted to do it in James' room.  I sourced the lamp at Target and slowly filled it up with cars and trucks collected throughout the summer.  I am in love with how it turned out!  As for the Fisherman's Lamp, I splurged and picked it up at Pottery Barn Kids.  I figured it is such a classic that it will get lots of longevity as he grows up.  We also replaced the ceiling fan which turned out to be quite a task, but superhero Ed was up to the challenge.

Shelving

The awesome airplane shelf is from Pottery Barn Kids.  The price was pretty steep - especially for a shelf, but I decided to go for it since I was saving money on other items.  I'm sorry to say that it is no longer available on the PBK site, but there are a few new, really cute alternative options.  As for the shelves over the desk, those were sourced in Aunt Adriana and Uncle John's house in NY!  They have this guy hanging in their half bath and when we were visiting, I saw it and knew it was exactly what we needed.  The good news was that it was still available at Home Depot.  The better news was that they were only $28 each. 

Wall Hangings

This was a fun part of the big kid room creation because it was sky's the limit.  I found the framed transportation artwork on Etsy.  The colors were perfect so they are a great addition to the room.  It's hard to see, but the framed image above the tall dresser actually says "James' Garage" which I thought was adorable.

The items in the wall collage were collected from various locations.  The circular police car was a Target find (and it was on clearance!).  I grabbed "Love You More" sign at Kirklands.  The "Auto Laundry" sign was a Land of Nod find and the vintage VA license plate was sourced on Ebay.  I think it was the first transaction I made on Ebay in close to 11 years!!  We have a few more items to hang on the walls including a mirror over the short dresser, the custom print that is currently in the nursery and possibly a road wall decal on the long wall that the bed it on.  Like I said, the sky's the limit!

And the most important piece of art in the room is the custom made "James" sign from Ms. Alison Hunt.  Alison is one of Ed's oldest friends and is one of the most talented artists we know.  She created this A-MAZE-ING piece of art for James and it is the perfect addition to his new room. Thank you Alison!!!!

Miscellaneous Decor

Most of the small items in the room were things that we already had in the house.  James received the little Mobil Oil Gas Pump Clock from a friend of Grandpa's and it worked perfectly in this room.  Aunt Alyson Seigal provided the adorable transportation bank and we pulled some great car, truck and train books to act as a base for the Volkswagen Bug found at a specialty toy store in Bethany.  The bins and rug were Home Goods finds and the retro radio is from Target.  The Green Toys fire truck and airplane were Christmas gifts from Uncle Joe and the fireman helmet is courtesy of Firehouse Subs!

So there you go. As I mentioned earlier this week, we couldn't be happier with the results of this room transformation. James is a BIG fan of playing his new room and exploring all the cool stuff.  We are still working on him getting used to sleeping in it.  It's been an uphill battle but hopefully he will soon start to feel comfy, cozy in here - and sleep 12 straight hours!

Big Kid Room: The Reveal

We are FINALLY ready to show off James' new big kid room.  This post has been a long time coming.  And I mean a long time. The room has been painted for close to 2 months.  The furniture has been in place and the decor has been staged.  We have just been so busy that it took FOREVER to pull the camera out and actually take the photos.

Well, the wait is over.  May I present, James' new room.  We went with a transportation theme and are really happy with the results.

James is big fan of the space.  We are still working on the whole sleeping-in-the-new-bed-in-a-new-room thing, but we are getting there.  He does love laying on his big bed and has moved all his stuffed friends in so he's not alone at night. :)

 

Now, while all this fun was happening upstairs, we snuck in another quick paint job in the basement.  May I present our new basement bathroom!

I apologize for the horrible photos, but it is impossible to get in the tiny space and get some good shots.  We went with a bold teal and couldn't be happier with the results.  An updated light fixture and a paint job on the mirror brought it all together.

We are now 95% finished with our planned updates in the house so the projects are going to come to a screeching halt for a while.  And you know what, we welcome the break.  As does our bank account. :)

A Little Game of Catch-Up

I feel so terrible that many of the recent blog posts are more of a catch up vs. a this-is-us-in-the-now, but what can I say.  We are just too busy enjoying the summer and being in the moment to have time to reflect on it.  So here I am...ready to catch you up on what's been happening.  But since I am short on time, I am going to use minimal words and lots of visuals. :)

James' Big Boy Room
This beautiful green monster has been sitting in this state for almost 2 weeks.  We have been too crazed to get our butts in gear!!!  Soon enough, this kid will be able to move into his new room.

Burke Lake

One word - Biking.

4th of July

All I have to say is PARADE!!!!  This was James' first parade and he LOVED it!  From big men in tiny cars to Redskin cheerleaders to librarians with carts, this parade had it all.  

Fountains & Ice Cream

How do the two go together, you ask?  Well, they don't.  I'm just saving time by putting some darn cute photos under the same headline!  The fountains are at a local town center.  James gets a kick out of the water and takes about 20 minutes to get the courage to actually step near it. 

Weekend in Philly

To sum it up, our Philly trip is best described as AWESOME!  We stayed in a great downtown hotel close to everything (and had lots of fun on the elevator).  We hit the Please Touch Museum and the Philadelphia Zoo which were both BIG hits with the little man.  We found some great local restaurants and ate some delicious food.  We chair danced while eating ice cream at Reading Terminal Market.  What could be better?!

Bubbles

The kid is obsessed with bubbles.  OBSESSED!!  When he wakes up in the morning, he asks to play bubbles.  When he walks out the door and sees the bubble barrel on the porch, he says hello and goodbye to the bubbles.  He eats dinner as if he were the Flash so that he can play with the bubbles.  He loves bubbles.  Bubbles are his life.  Bubbles are his love.  Thank you to whoever invented bubbles.

Dave Matthews Concert

We once again fulfilled our summer pilgrimage to Jiffy Lube Live to catch our/my favorite band in action.  This year's show did not disappoint, nor did the special VIP passes that my darling sister Sue's friend landed us.  Free food and alcohol AND a band member sighting - Mr. Rashawn Ross.  He is a newer member playing trumpet and other brass instruments (RIP Leroy!).  The concert itself was AMAZING with a really strong setlist.  We had a GREAT time - and thanks to Grandma and Grandpa for offering their babysitting services!

Potty Training

The time has come.  Soon enough, we will be a diaper free zone.  We are in the practice stage right now - just getting used to sitting on the potty.  But I see a potty training bootcamp weekend in our future!!

He is soooooooo going to kill me for putting that photo on the Internet when he is older.  :)

So that's what's going on.  I have a feeling that the next blog will be another catch-up at the end of August.  On the calendar we have a Nationals Game, a trip to Dutch Wonderland, a visit from Adriana & John and a possible visit from Grandma M.  See you in a month!